Hack: Know if Someone Read Your Email Using Bit.ly

by Sam on December 17, 2008

Hack: Know if Someone Read Your Email Using Bit.ly

I am finding new uses for Bit.ly all the time. The fact that you can track how many times a link has been clicked has a number of not-immediately-obvious uses. One example is a solution to a problem we all have at one time or another: wondering whether someone has read an email we sent.

Say you have emailed a business plan to an investor or sent an email to a girl you just met and are asking out for the first time. Chances are you will soon be in some degree of agony while you wait with baited breath for that reply…

Hack: Offer up a link(s) in the email shortened using Bit.ly. For example, rather than attaching your business plan, you could send someone to an FTP site, or let them access it via Google Documents. In either case, include the a Bit.ly URL and then check to see if anyone other than you has accessed that link.

Simple, stealth, effective.

(Another relevant use case for startups is whether TechCrunch50 or DEMO has reviewed your submission)

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  • elventails

    lol
    so you actually see that you got a few hits on your link -
    but despite that, you still don't hear from the people –
    Simple, stealth, effective, indeed; is the agony of waiting gone? not necessarily :)
    you know they read it – but they're still not getting back!
    that's when you start stalking.. :)

  • http://www.leveragingideas.com Sam Huleatt

    No, the agony of waiting for the true reply is not gone…it's simply a hack to know it's been read. Waiting is one of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur…you wait for everything. Maybe I should write a few posts about the psychology of waiting….

  • http://www.leveragingideas.com Sam Huleatt

    No problem Easton…it is a sneaky but effective hack – the best kind :)

  • http://www.techstartups.com/ Easton Ellsworth

    Sneaky and genius. I know it has its limits but that's a great idea. Thanks for posting Sam.

  • Boseph

    hey i have a nosy parent that can access my gmail with some sorta copbot or somthing http://www.securecheckscreening.com/ is one of the sites i found. is it possible to block them from getting into my email because i will be 18 very soon and i dont want nosy parents into my personal emails

  • Boseph

    hey i have a nosy parent that can access my gmail with some sorta copbot or somthing http://www.securecheckscreening.com/ is one of the sites i found. is it possible to block them from getting into my email because i will be 18 very soon and i dont want nosy parents into my personal emails

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